Erised
by OfPheonixandHolly
Summary: "Because…" here he pulled himself into her and whispered softly. "I see what you see."


**Hi readers :) So I spent my first night of spring break writing this for you… help me out here. If you want to favorite this, _please_** **review. I want people to give my story a chance, and I feel like they'll only do that if they see it's been reviewed. I'll read and review one of your stories if you do the same! Check my profile for a poll on what story I'll write next, and happy readings :)**

**Love, OfPheonixandHolly**

All was silent in the halls of Hogwarts, as Thursday night relinquished its hold on the castle and the wee hours of Friday morning began. The only movement was the gentle sliding of moonbeams across the ancient stone floors. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

That is, until a door on the third floor began to creak open, the ancient hinges protesting against the slow pressure.

The door then halted, and the corridors were once again eerily still.

A shadow passed from the utter darkness of the library's recesses through the aforementioned door. Swiftly, it crept along the walls without detection. Suddenly, a cloud that had been lazily drifting across the moon abandoned its lunar friend and the corridor was bathed in bleak light. The stealthy figure stopped in surprise.

Had any prefect, teacher, or anybody with the slightest knowledge of the student body of Hogwarts been present, they would have been struck speechless. Because frozen in the moonbeams stood the last student anyone would have expected to have been roaming the hallways in the early morning.

But the vibrant red locks and striking green eyes did not lie. There, standing in the middle of the hallway and breaking several school rules at once, stood Lily Evans.

The obviously nervous girl shook herself from her momentary fright. Berating herself for acting like such a coward, Lily heaved her heavy bag of books more securely on her shoulder and set off down the corridor at the fastest trot such a heavy load would allow.

She couldn't deny that her heart was racing. Gryffindor she might be, but Lily Evans was simply not to be found sneaking around after curfew, even if it was in the name of finding a few more books with which to write her Charms essay. The redhead had little reason to worry. Her light footsteps and hurried breathing made it all the way to the staircase one floor below the Head's dorm before anything went wrong.

But something, of course, went wrong.

Struggling up the stairs with books far too heavy for her petite frame to manage, it was just her luck, she decided, that she would trip and fall. Fortunately, as Lily muttered a rather uncharacteristic stream of choice words, it appeared that no one had heard the slight commotion. Beginning her journey again once the lack of detection had been ascertained, the witch made it another three steps before the true bad luck reared its ugly head.

With an earsplitting rip, the seams of her bag gave way and all of her books tumbled down the flagstone stairs. Lily froze in terror, and moments later her worst fear was confirmed. The glaring eyes of Mrs. Norris appeared at the top of the staircase and the shuffle of her master's feet were sure to be close by.

With the resolve garnered from the fervent desire to avoid detention, Lily Evans snatched up the contents of her bags and fled the scene. Dashing down the halls and up staircases, she realized how futile her escape was when she came to a skidding stop near the end of the seventh floor corridor. Filch's steps and loud curses could be heard, and the redhead quickly understood that Hogwarts' esteemed Head Girl would soon have earned herself a detention. Wishing frantically for a way out as she paced the hallway, her eyes alighted on nearby door.

It only took her a moment to decide. Scrambling over to the mysterious door, Lily flung herself into the room. She turned to shut the door, but found it already shut. Taking care to be as quiet as possible, she pressed her ear against the aged wood.

She listened carefully as Filch's gravelly voice drew near. Just as she despaired of being trapped all night in the room, the caretaker's steps faded away. Lily's breathing evened as she took a moment to look at the room she had happened upon.

The dusty desks and fading notes on the blackboard indicated an unused classroom, she decided. But what caught her attention weren't the old Potions instructions of years gone by. It was the ornate mirror standing in the middle of the room.

Drawn by her fascination, Lily drew nearer. She gently fingered the golden script on the frame.

"_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_," she whispered. Her tawny brows furrowed. Overcome with curiosity as to why such a beautiful artifact would be hidden in a place such as this, the witch gazed into the glass. Her gasp was audible.

"What?" she murmured in shock. "But there's no one here…"

Obviously confused, the girl turned away. She peered about the room, her green eyes filled with shock.

Moving further away from the mysterious mirror, she pivoted again on her heels and looked back into the mirror. The image was still the same. The room was eerily silent as Lily pondered what she was seeing.

For there, in the dusty glass, she stood. But it wasn't her, in a way. The Lily in the dusty classroom was pale with shock. The Lily in the mirror was laughing and smiling with joy.

And she wasn't alone.

Standing behind the Lily in the mirror, grinning even wider than the redhead and wrapping his strong arms around her small waist, was someone extremely familiar. The unruly black hair and hazel eyes crinkled behind glasses were unmistakable. James Potter nuzzled Lily's ear. The astounded girl watching touched her own ear, realizing as she did so that no muscled Head Boy stood there behind her in reality.

She simply stared at the picture of happiness she saw for a few moments longer, her freckled cheeks blushing brightly as mirror-James spun mirror-Lily around and gently kissed her smiling lips.

"Perfect, isn't it?"

Lily jumped out of her reverie in fright at the deep male voice she knew all too well. Willing her thoughts of what she had just witnessed in the mirror to subside, she turned to face him.

"Hullo, James. So the door didn't shut of its own accord, did it?" she queried with a small smile gracing her still shocked features.

He chuckled as he moved nearer. "You don't miss much, do you Lils?"

She smirked despite the warm shiver that coursed through her body as he uttered the nickname only he ever used. "Not much."

Silence fell on the room again. Fidgeting, Lily surreptitiously glanced back at the image in the mirror. It hadn't changed.

It was James who broke the quiet.

"Figured it out yet, have you?"

She frowned gently at him. Hesitatingly she replied, "Not for certain… but I can guess, I suppose. It shows us our dreams, doesn't it?"

"Our heart's deepest desires, actually." His hazel eyes gazed steadily at her blushing face as she once again looked at the mirror's image. He waited for her to answer.

She finally shook herself away from the mirror and whispered gently. "James… what do you see?"

The wizard didn't immediately respond. Instead, he began to walk slowly towards her. "Lily… you want to know what I see?" He drew close to her, until they very nearly touched. She gasped and found herself nodding. His eyes bored into hers with a smoldering intensity and she shivered. Unable to hold such a loaded gaze, she turned to face the mirror.

He moved so that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest on her back. "Lily…" his breath tickling her ear. "You already know what I see." His fingers grazed her waist as his arms slowly encircled her. "Because…" here he pulled himself into her and whispered softly. "I see what you see."

With that, he dropped a kiss on her collarbone. "James…" her voice came out dry and throaty. He didn't respond. "James…" Trailing light kisses up her neck, he came to her ear. "James…" this time her words ended in a moan as he gently bit down and slid his teeth over her earlobe.

That single noise evidently made him lose control, as he spun her around and swiftly covered her lips with his own. His lips slanted over hers, years of pent up frustration and desire and waiting. She felt his tongue, and her knees suddenly felt like water.

Feeling this, James pulled back, a radiant smile gracing his face. "Lily…

Breathing heavily and grinning just as widely, Lily glanced one last time at the mirror. "So I'm guessing that my convenient accident on the staircase wasn't such an accident, James."

His sheepish smile confirmed what she already knew. Shaking her head and laughing, she continued, "I suppose we'll have to thank Remus and Sirius now, won't we?"

He growled playfully. "Fat chance, Lils. You can say thank you later. Right now, I'd like to spend my time making up for all our lost time…"

Lily smirked. "Lost time?"

James blushed faintly. "It's taken me six years to get you to see what I see in that mirror."

With a mischievous grin, the redhead pulled herself from his embrace and sauntered to the door.

"Well I reckon it'll take a little bit more effort than that."

And with that, she dashed through the door with his chuckling close behind, their laughter recklessly cutting through the once-silent halls.

**Okay, so if you're about to favorite this, I expect a review ;) You don't even have to be signed in! And as an added incentive, if this story receives 10 reviews by Sunday morning, I'll write you guys another one-shot by the end of the week!**


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